Shadow of the Armor
by TheManTimeForgot
Summary: Part 13: The goal is so close, but one action can send it all crashing down...
1. The Alchemical Forge

_Tenchi Muyo! is the property of Hitoshi Okuda, AIC, Madhouse Entertainment, and Funimation._

 _It's strange actually. This is kind of the reason I started this whole thing, and I've gotten to it so late. It's time to show you how I first thought of my characters._

* * *

"This is a nightmare, we shouldn't be here…" As Azaka and Kamidake flew away Nero held onto the handle to one of his heavy sickles, head never moving away from the house in the distance as he backed up a step. Due to a sliding door they were able to see that the modest interior was empty. "Psyche, anyone in there?"

 _"It's difficult to determine."_

"She's right," Epsilon said, drying himself off with summoned wind. "There's a weird energy in there. I can't tell what it is but its-hold on…" He saw a figure coming into view. A woman in a blue and yellow dress let out a long yawn as she walked in front of the living room. Epsilon blinked a couple times and twisted to see Nero completely paralyzed by her presence. Everyone else was starting to huddle around Epsilon, mainly to dry off.

The woman rubbed her eyes. "So what's the racket out here?" She caught Omega as she looked out of the window, and in a instant she disappeared and reappeared in front of him. He looked at her face; feline features with cyan hair and golden eyes, curious at why she came to him. Before he opened his mouth she punched him in the face, hard enough to send him into a tree and breaking it in half.

"You shouldn't have come back." She said.

"Omega!" Gamma called out. "She looks familiar right?"

Omega pushed the tree aside and got up, angry ."I don't need a reason to fight her, but I do want to know who this person is."

"Ryoko Hakubi." Nero strained his nerves to speak. "The pinnacle of biological engineering. Superior to your design in every way, although I did what I could."

"Wait." Omega looked at himself. "What do you mean?"

"She is the inspiration for my genetic research." Nero said. "Which lead to your creation."

Ryoko floated up to his face, causing Nero to freeze. "I'm not some thing to be copied." She hissed, her body crackling with orange lightning. "Stay out of my way as I deal with Omega."

"Good enough for me!" Omega yelled, unsheathing his twin sabers. "I'll show you how _inferior_ I am!" He started to move, first walking and then jogging towards her. Ryoko responded by dashing towards him, not even touching the ground as she came at him. As she sped up, he maintained his pace and then in a flash he struck with both of his short blades as they crossed. They turned around to face each other, Omega smiling as he lifted his right blade, a thin streak of blood on the edge. Ryoko glanced down at the torn section of her left sleeve, now stained red.

"So this is the blood of the ultimate bioweapon?" Omega goaded her as he wiped his weapon off using his hand. "Maybe I've gotten better at…at this…" Suddenly he swooned in place, paying greater mind to the smear in his palm. It sunk into his hand and then he doubled over and screamed. The pain rocketed through his entire body, bringing him to his knees.

"We've got to do something!" Epsilon said, but Nero stuck his arm out in front of him.

"Our focus is not here but elsewhere. Victor, is this Omega's curse?"

"It has to be!"

 _"Multiple life readings!"_ Psyche shouted. Nero responded by jumping into Epsilon's shadow. From around the corner stepped a young man holding a wooden handle adorned with red jewels. He looked at the scene in front of him in shock, while behind him, his shadow grew darker.

"How'd you guys come back?" As he thought on it, Nero pulled him aside, kopesh pressed on his neck.

"Drop the sword, Tenchi." He complied immediately. "Now can you tell me what happened to Omega?"

Tenchi saw Omega's pain. "Looks like bad blood." The screaming turned to laughter as Omega stood up, charged with lightning.

"Victor!" Gamma's head snapped over to Nero. "Omega's curse is vampiric! He's absorbed the qualities of Ryoko's blood!"

Omega understood in a instant. "So that's what this is? Amazing!" He cast aside his weapons, overwhelmed with the ecstasy that comes with new power. "I can rip apart anything now! Even you…" He placed his hand out, and the lightning collected into a orb. He aimed it at Ryoko, who crossed her arms and stood still.

"Wait don't-" Gamma couldn't get the words out before the orb exploded spectacularly, laying him out.

Now Ryoko was the one laughing. "Not easy being me, is it?"

"You really need to stop antagonizing him." Another woman walked in from the back door, in a pink dress, her maroon eyes just as condescending as her soft, sharp voice. "You know how he gets when he's angry."

"I don't see you doing anything about him, Princess."

Around the demure woman materialized a group of cylinders similar to Azaka and Kamidake, but smaller in scale. They quickly surrounded Omega as he got up and restrained him within a energy field, by moving around they had kept him forced to the ground. He was in pain, but in defiance he kept his mouth closed. As they approached their captive, Epsilon lost his patience stepped in front of them, his halberd out in front.

"Let him go." Omega was in wonder at seeing Epsilon defending him. Gamma, Rho, Upsilon, and Helen followed suit.

"Ryoko, Ayeka," Gamma addressed the two, bowing as he did. "You should think about actions." He looked past them to Nero, dragging Tenchi into the conflict. Ryoko and Ayeka tensed up at the display.

"We no longer wish to fight." Nero said.

"Could've fooled me." Nero looked around for the source of the new voice when a black hole opened up beneath him and Tenchi. Nero let Tenchi fall in as he jumped out of the way. The hole shifted from the ground to the air and a girl in dark green came out with Tenchi at her side.

"Thanks." He said.

"I had a feeling you would return," She said to Nero, rubbing her chin. Her long vibrant red hair and green eyes gave her a even more youthful look. "But not in your present state."

"Washu; just the person I needed to see." Nero put away his sword. "I can call you Washu?"

"For now."

"Well, what can we do for you?"

Washu looked over at the prostrate Omega and at her whim he was pulled towards her, her green eyes inspecting him. "I'll take him for a while. After that, I'll help you find your way."

"Fine."

On Nero's agreement, Washu took Omega through the portal and she went in behind him.

Rho looked around at everyone else. "What just happened?"

"An agreement." Helen explained.

"We are disadvantaged." Upsilon said. "It seems that they know a thing or two about us."

"Or more likely they know about the other version of us."

"We can talk about that later." Epsilon said. "Will Omega be okay?"

"Washu's examinations tend to be invasive." Gamma admitted. "But he'll live."

Epsilon thought on it, but he couldn't shake his uneasiness. He wandered around unknowingly until Ayeka stopped him.

"You can stay here, young knight, if you feel like it."

Epsilon turned to Gamma, who went over to Tenchi. "Tenchi Masaki, if you would allow us?"

There was a thin smile on his face. "What's a few more guests?"

"Thank you." The rest of them dispersed and left to their own devices. Nero however, had come across an idea…

* * *

The night wind was cool to Omega's skin, but he still felt stiff from the shackles he had been in, and the new clothes he now wore. He just sat on the patio, alone with a basket of carrots given to him by a girl named Sasami. Taking a bite of one, he noticed a animal beside it. He thought it was a cat at first when he heard it meow at him. Then he moved the basket aside and he saw a brown and white rabbit with a red jewel on its head.

"Do you talk?" Omega asked it. When it didn't respond he assumed that it couldn't. It tried to grab the carrot in his hand, but Omega kept it out of reach. Eventually he gave up and let it take the vegetable, taking a bit of enjoyment from watching it eat. That quickly vanished when he saw that the basket was empty.

"Ryo-oki really likes carrots." Ryoko walked in and sat down beside him. "And she does talk, just only to me."

"Thanks for solving that. Next question," He tried to collect energy but he couldn't keep it stable. "How do I do this?"

"Washu didn't tell you? Figures she'd nearly dissect you and not bother to tell you anything." She brushed her hair aside and undid a earring, a red gem at the end of it. She placed it in the palm of his right hand, with her hand over it. a blue glow came from between the hands, and the gem appeared inside his wrist. When he tried again, it worked without a hitch. To Ryoko's surprise, Omega buried his face in his hands.

"I'm Gem-powered now, unbelievable…"

"What's so bad about that?"

He slowly turned to her, irritated that her face looked so much like his. "The more I've been here, the more I feel like I'm losing myself and becoming more and more of, " He waved his hand around. "Whatever this place is. Now I come to find out that my very creation was just an attempt to copy you. Is there anything I can consider mine?"

She poked him in the head. "You still got that noggin of yours."

"Not really. There's another person up here, named Mark; he was their friend until he died. Nero used his neural structure to complete me. That's why they let me stick around; otherwise I would be long since dead."

"To hell with that! You've gotta find out _your_ reason for being here."

"What's your's?"

Ryoko looked out at the forest. "I was trapped in a cave for seven hundred years. No way out, and no hope of escape. I was alone for a long time, until this kid came by. He knew that there was some kind of 'demon' that lived there, but he was never afraid of it, of me I kept an eye on him when he came by and he grew up to be rather handsome." A smile crept onto her face.

"How long did he stay around?"

"Long enough to set me free. And he let me stay here, with him, once he understood who, not what, I was."

"Tenchi." Omega concluded. "He's the one."

Ryoko nodded. "Unfortunately I still have to share him."

"Your life here is…nice." Omega stretched out to lay on his back, only to almost pass through the patio into the ground, Ryoko barely able to grab his arm and pull him out. Omega was visibly shocked at the ability.

"Are there any more tricks you need to tell me?"

* * *

From within the house, Epsilon overheard a lot of Omega and Ryoko's conversation and became regretful as he remembered how he felt about releasing him. It had been a long time since then. His thoughts drifted to home, and how long it had been since they had first took that door and left. And even before then, when he fought Athanor, when he got the scar on his face, when he put on that shining gold armor…

"What have I turned into?"

"A knight." He snapped out of his sorrow and found Ayaka standing next to him.

"Princess." He lowered his head.

"You don't have to do that."

Epsilon raised his head. "There was a time when being this was what I wanted the most."

"I know." She said. "It's what the other you said."

"The other me…" Epsilon touched his necklace. "Who was he?"

"It would be better if the rest of you heard that story."

"I don't think you were here to tell me that."

Ayaka stifled a cough. "That story Ryoko told; it's not entirely true. Lord Tenchi was scared stiff of her when they met."

He mentally checked off the fact that she referred to someone as young as Tenchi as 'Lord'. "Then why is she still here?"

"If there's one thing she's right about, it's that Lord Tenchi is a kind and caring person."

"You care for him as well."

She didn't say anything back, her chest rising and falling. "Your friends will need you. Don't leave them."

"Of course."

"Ayeka!" The call came from Sasami. "Get everyone ready for dinner!"

"Let's go then." They left then, walking past a flight of stairs. A door built into the wall opened up and Washu popped out.

"Ah, Epsilon, right on time." She looked out at the others in the living room. "I'm going to need all of you to come into my lab."

Gamma and Nero were gleeful at the news. Rho was more wary. "Could we at least eat first?"

"We can eat while we're working." Gamma tapped Rho's shoulder.

"You just want to see the lab, don't you?"

"I _really_ want to see the lab." Gamma admitted. "We also need answers, and who better to give us those than the greatest mind in the universe?"

Washu basked in his praise. "You still have some respect, that's good. Bring in Omega."

"You rang?" And Omega slowly faded into the room, a couple feet off of the ground and upside down. He shrugged his shoulders "Eh, close enough."

"Wanna go back in there?" Gamma asked him.

"I'm not going to stop her. The sooner the better."

"What will we be doing?" Upsilon spoke up.

"Combat practice. It's the only thing I've yet to study."

He and Helen got up from their seats. "Count us in."

"Great, follow me." They went through the door one by one and it closed in front of Ayeka. Ryoko stepped in and stared at the door.

"So, is Epsilon like you remembered?"

"More or less. He's still a little young. What about Omega?"

"The same."

"I'm surprised, besides that woman, they're so close to being just like the others."

"Yeah, a little too close." Ryoko's yellow eyes furrowed. "Washu should be able to handle them."


	2. Overheat

_"I must admit,"_ Psyche chimed in as she scanned the data being fed to her. _"This is quite the place."_

"I happen to know a little bit about folding multiple dimensions to fit inside a stairwell." Washu gloated. She was sitting on a well crafted chair, holographic displays cycling around her, showing her each of the areas where Gamma and the others were going through their various combat trials. "How are you handling the information? It's quite a lot to take in."

 _"You don't have to go easy on me. Give me all you've got."_

"If you're so sure…" A few taps on a keyboard and the data flowed in at an even faster rate. "Well, well; it seems you're quite the construct aren't you?"

 _"I'm no small thing."_

"I'll keep that in mind."

 _"Now, about the other variant of Victor and his friends."_

"Of course. Now don't tell them what I'm going to tell you; it wouldn't do them any good to know too much about themselves." She turned her attention back to the displays, her mirth replaced with focus. The first one showed Gamma fighting a series of training machines made to mimic basic swordplay. He dodged and dispatched them one after the other, most with his katana, and a unfortunate one had a kunai driven into its face with a well placed throw.

"This Gamma is still the leader, isn't he?

 _"Half of his ideas come from me, but he tries."_

"He didn't have you back then, but he had that armor, and was still rather clever. Quick with his wit as well as his sword." Her eyes perked up as she saw one of her drones disarmed Gamma. He responded by swiping it with his obsidian claw, leaving four gashes in its midsection, glowing from the heat of the attack. With no more enemies, he put away his weapons and went to work tuning his armor.

"That claw, it's not a good sign."

 _"I know."_ Psyche was downtrodden. _"He hasn't been right since he met Hild and got that thing."_

"I never understood why he disliked her so much. Now Rho on the other hand…" The image of Gamma was replaced with Rho, who kept his enemy at bay with his shield and sword thrusts.

"Show her your Pile Bunker, Rho!" Gamma said, Rho hearing him with the room's interconnected speakers.

"Pile-what now?" Rho wondered.

"The piston arm you used in Mitakihara." Nero clarified. "Victor and I will discuss terminology with you later."

"Oh! Right…" He gathered his focus and in a flash of brilliant light both of his gauntlets grew to house the great cylinders. His first punch obliterated the leading machine, and the second shot he had he sent into the ground, creating a shockwave that crushed the rest of them.

"If you didn't know what they were called, how did you know how to create them?" Nero said.

"When we were first separated, we fought this giant lobster-"

"Shrimp." Upsilon said.

"Whatever. It's primary weapon was a claw that could fire concussive blasts, and was defeated by a warrior with two mighty gauntlets. Using Upsilon's data on the battle, I combined the two to make these." Rho flexed his hands for emphasis. "They're still a little bulky, but nothing I won't get used to."

 _"Are you sure?"_ Rho looked up when he heard Psyche. _"Your brain waves spike oddly when you use them."_

"I'm a little anxious. There are so many things I want to learn about this place, but until Hild is defeated, they will have to wait." Rho slowly preformed the standard moves of Rindo-kan, experimenting on how to add the rest of his martial arts in the form, and Psyche left him alone. As the motion became more fluid, his armor faded and he had a golden aura around him.

"Rho's armor seems to be fully functional." Washu noted.

 _"I'm pretty sure that armor didn't grow when Victor built it."_

"Rho's will has always been strong. It didn't take him long to turn that will into a physical structure. Not many could stand up to his fists, but he tended to be reckless. Nevertheless he does have the heart of a classical hero, so he fights Hild on principle."

She slid over to the room that held Upsilon and Helen, and the room was filled with sparking metal as the two Selbstmord Masters tore through their opponents. Helen slashing at exposed areas and Upsilon cutting and punching straight through the thick armor.

"That's fifteen for me!" Helen bragged.

"I have dispatched sixteen." Upsilon said. "And with no more enemies to fight."

"Are you so certain?" Helen pointed her sword at his feet. Upsilon looked down and found the upper body of a machine grabbing at his leg. With a growl he kicked the torso aside and pressed his foot down on its head, taking his time before crushing it.

Helen walked past him. "Good work." Upsilon's teeth clenched at the remark, the mental reflex causing a wrist blade to come out of his left hand, but stood still.

"Upsilon is still as sunny as ever I see." Washu said. "At least he has someone to share his disposition with."

 _"He must have been a hassle alone."_

"Not really. He always had a soft spot for children. It also helps if he has a task to work on. Upsilon!" He turned to face a vidscreen with her face on it. "I have the code to the teleportation spell, and the geometric figures needed to perform them."

"It requires a item from the target universe." Upsilon reasoned.

Washu nodded. "Moving through alternate realities isn't easy. The beings who use these abilities have the mental capacity of supercomputers and can easily make the necessary equations for interdimensional travel. You, on the other hand, will have to use shorthand."

"Very well."

"Also, I found this chair while you were occupied-"

"Destroy it if you would."

 _"I don't understand the chair."_ Psyche asked.

Washu cut communications with Upsilon before responding. "I remember that chair. It was a gift from Hild; for services rendered. The old Upsilon would rarely sit down, but when he did, is was in that."

 _"Upsilon…in service to Hild…why?"_

"The concepts of good and evil are lost to him. His ethics have different foundations. He's little more than a machine: doing what he is ordered, and destroying any target in front of him."

 _"And Helen?"_

"This Upsilon's devotion to her is similar to the one the old one's loyalty to Hild. Helen did not exist before, but she might be Hild's equivalent where you come from. Washu took a deep breath. "Let's watch something else."

Epsilon's trials were a mix of ground and aerial drones that he flew past with ease. As a streak of light he cut through the ones in the sky before landing in front of the rest. His necklace glowed as he placed his hand outward towards them.

"Holy Wind Press!"

A blast of wind came from Epsilon's hand, rending the machines into nothing. After that, he sat on the ground and stretched out.

"He took to Valkyrie training well. Then again, Lind did have a way with him."

 _"There was a time when he could barely stand to hold a weapon."_

"It's rare when a human can raise their power to such a level. Gods and demons may fight each other, but while here on Earth their power is limited. Epsilon and Upsilon were… experiments to place a ugly word on it."

 _"To do what?"_

"To create a servant who can break the rules of the universe, dear Psyche."

 _"They thought that was possible?"_

"I've haven't been here long, but Earthlings are very strange." Washu's tone was flippant. "Their determination allows them to reach heights I've never thought possible. It looks like Gamma put a little bit of Earth into you."

 _"He never expected to create me. I'm 'his greatest mistake', his greatest intended invention is the armor."_

"Weapons were always his specialty." Washu said. "Although this shady fellow has a handle on things." She switched to Nero, who had drifted around the robots, pitch black except for his bright blue eyes.

"I've _made_ better machines than this!" As he said that, he hooked one of the robots and pulled it into another. "Is this all you've got!"

The greatest scientist in the world was somewhat miffed at the remark. Increasing the awareness of her drones, they quickly swamped Nero. Before he was overwhelmed he dropped into one of her holes and was dumped out right off of the ground.

Washu didn't bother to look at him pick himself up. "Why do you have to be so disrespectful? Then again, you were Gamma's shadow, right Di-Gamma?"

"Me and Helen never got nicknames. We weren't on the best of terms before we came here."

"I see. Welp, I have almost everything I need." She brought everyone except Omega back from their rooms gracefully. "Just a few more questions."

"Is Psyche okay?" Gamma said, his eyes on the screen.

 _"It's been rough, but I'm fine. Washu has treated me better than you ever did."_

"You don't mean that. And even if you do, you haven't been trying to kill her."

Washu laughed at the spat. "Anything to keep your wits sharp, huh? Now about the metal in your armor; it's not consistent."

Gamma tapped his armor. "We use alloys Nero and I dubbed Hielzenoid, after the metal found in this galaxy, Hielzen. Mine is simply Alloy X, or 'AX'. It's in all of my armors and weapons."

"Mine uses more copper." Nero presented his swords and his Roman style plate. "So I called it Neo-Bronze. Omega's smallswords are also made of it."

"Johann and I use Obsidian Steel." Helen showed off her armor.

"It's Hexaferrite, compressed with energy in order to exist outside the planet's mantle." Upsilon said. "As such it is incredibly dense. Our swords alone weigh fifty-five pounds combined."

"Impressive." Washu said. "Now, explain him." She pointed to the screen depicting Omega. He used his gem to great effect, having a number of orange orbs around him, sending them at anything in range. He floated upwards and twisted around gracefully, showing off his abilities more than fighting. Raising both of his hands over his head, the individual orbs collected into one. Omega projected the orb outward and a beam shot out and disintegrated all of his opposition.

 _"Took notes from big sister?"_

"Please Mark, let it be." He landed, looking around and finding no other surprises. "Can't believe Hild was right about my relation to Ryoko…"

 _"That only became true a few hours ago; she's not omniscient."_

"She cursed me knowing I would come in contact with her blood. If Hild can't see the future, she's doing a good job of acting like it."

 _"It's a pity; if you weren't siblings, you two would have made a good couple."_

"Out of the question." Omega's voice was stern. "Her heart belongs to the one who set her free. I'm not going to get in the way of that."

 _"Isolation will do more damage than any weapon. That I know from experience."_

"I have the entire multiverse to explore after this mess ends. I won't be alone then."

 _"You're not alone now."_

Omega scratched his head. "Hmmm…"

"So?" Nero said. "You've studied him Washu, what else do you want to know?"

"His parents, or at least his genetic donors."

Nero fidgeted and backed off. Gamma and the rest fell back as well, leaving Upsilon and Helen in the front. Washu eyes snapped between each of them.

"These two?"

"Where we come from, we are the strongest humans alive." Helen said. "That fact attracted Nero to me."

"And what about Upsilon?"

"My compliance was not needed." Upsilon's flat tone carried no anger. "Helen had attained my sperm cells and gave them to Nero."

"I'd expect you to care more." Washu noted that Upsilon hadn't risen to her taunt. "And Helen's ovum?"

"I can't menstruate. When you work with death, you have to give up a little life to be good at it. His birth was in vitro, allowing Nero to monitor his development."

"Why go into genetics, shade?"

Nero walked over to the screen. "Because your creation scares me. I can sense Athanor's energy, we all can, and with even with a small amount of Ryoko's blood he's nearly as powerful as the old 'Ruin Buster'. Looks kind of like him, too. I realized that mankind needed to move beyond its current limitations to fight a new enemy. Creating a new human is a quicker solution than contemplating the ethics of eugenics."

"What makes you so sure?"

"All I have to do is look at your family tree: You, your daughter Ryoko, her cousin Ayaka, _her_ brother Yosho, and his grandson, the strongest out of all of them.. Heh, heh…" He regained his composure. "Tenchi Masaki. Ah, the wonder of hybrids, even with one-quarter royal blood he's simply amazing."

"Wait," Epsilon said. "If he's that strong, how did you capture him?"

"Power does not equal skill. He wasn't ready for an ambush, so I kept him from taking action."

"However, power helps." Washu said and her head tilted towards Gamma. "I have something for you. Your other self left it here."

A portal opened up and from it a modified breastplate levitated in front of Gamma. Behind it were a series of six swords: four single edged and two greatswords, with Amplifier Modules embedded inside them right before the edges tapered.

 _"Victor…"_ Psyche's voice trailed off.

Gamma body trembled seeing it. "I can't believe it's here."

Rho grabbed his shoulder. "What is it?"

Gamma looked back at him. "The ultimate defensive barrier; The Hex-Array."

"That's the Hex-Array?"

"Mokkurkalfi said something along the lines of you being afraid of using it." Helen remembered. "Why is that?"

"It's in the description." Nero answered, also wary of the device. "The 'ultimate barrier'. Victor, you tried to fulfill Yakage's dream?"

Gamma noticed his question and smiled. "Ironic, isn't it? You the geneticist, and me the weapons maker. Followers of people far more dangerous than ourselves." As he spoke, laughter spilled out. "I gave it my best shot back home, but here I would have access to enough data to actually do it."

"Can you slow down and tell the rest of us what this means?" Epsilon asked.

"In this universe, the greatest power any one person can have is a shield; the Light Hawk Wings." Gamma sighed. "Everyone Nero described can use it with assistance, except Washu, Ryoko, and Tenchi, who can will the Wings into existence with their own power."

Upsilon tilted his head. "How can a shield grant such power?"

"Because it's one offensive attack severs the energy bonds between matter itself. What it cuts stays cut, forever, regardless of any attempts at regeneration."

Upsilon's breath caught in his throat. "Is there any limit?"

"The maximum number any one person can hold is ten. Even Tenchi can manage three on a bad day. My Hex-Array could be counted, at the very least, as one."

"Is that enough?" Rho wondered.

"It doesn't have to be, Victor." Nero walked between Gamma and the Hex-Array. "You don't need to use it. There are other ways to defeat Hild."

Gamma was surprised. "How?"

"Enlist the help of Tenchi and the gang. They are sympathetic to our cause, they would help us with undoing your curse."

"It's not their fight." Gamma turned to Washu. "I'm not dragging anyone else in this with me."

"I can speak for myself." Washu told Gamma. "You do not need to feel shame in asking for help."

"Shame?" Gamma started to shake. "This mess, this _entire mess is my fault_! If anyone's going to fix this, it's going to be me!"

 _"Be reasonable Victor!"_ Psyche's scream caught Gamma's attention. _"You need more help!"_

"No…" Gamma fitted the breastplate over his own. "I don't need help, not anymore." The blades vibrated and then sailed to his back, the points forming a hexagon with equal sides. He took a deep breath, and felt the new power running through him.

"Omega was right before; this is not a journey meant for man." Everyone was unsettled by his calm tone, and the obsidian growing over his armor. "But I've become a monster in the time I've been here, a monster with the power to destroy Hell itself with the heat and iron of my own forge!"


	3. Lord of Monsters

Nero broke to the side of Gamma and swung his sword at him. Gamma didn't move, but one of his shorter swords moved to block him. Gamma reached out to the other one of its kind, sending the rest around to his back. As the others came in to fight, the were met by a sword each. Epsilon was the first to get past and thrust his polearm at Gamma, who allowed it to hit his now ebony armor right under the arm. Orange cracks sprung up from the armor where it was hit, but otherwise it had no effect. Gamma turned to Epsilon, and Epsilon saw that the obsidian had started to creep up his neck.

"Out of the way!" Helen shouted as she threw the sword attacking her aside and came to assist Upsilon. Together they were able to push forward as well. Gamma decided to recall all his blades back into their standard position and once there, they began to hum. The hum created by the Hex-Array was followed by a cushion of air that pushed them away. They stood their ground and watched him for any movements from him or his systems.

He reached down to his side for his sword but couldn't find it at his hip. He felt a slight tapping on his back and he turned to see Washu, or at least a cheap imitation of her, with the sword in its hand.

"I can't say I didn't expect this to happen," The imitation said. "But even still, I had hoped for better."

Gamma's eyelids fell. "So did I." His hand flashed to strike it, but he fell into a hole that appeared under him. When the hole closed, Nero walked up to the mannequin and took Gamma's sword. Rho, who had been far away was panicked at the breakdown.

"What's happening to him!"

"Time." Nero said. "It claims us all eventually. Gamma kept level for your sakes, but he does not want you to come along with him."

"He can't do it alone!"

 _"Never stopped him from trying."_ Psyche's voice came from the mannequin. _"I had to force Victor to take you guys along."_

"Was his plan to take the Hex-Array and fight alone?" Upsilon wondered.

 _"No, he promised me that he wouldn't do anything so rash when he made the Hex-Array. But now with this, he's losing himself. You are his friends; you have to go save him!"_

"Where is he now, Washu?" Epsilon asked.

A screen popped up, and on it was Gamma, looking around for a exit in a white featureless zone. He flexed his hands, the obsidian making every feature look cruel and hostile. As he walked away whatever camera was there tracked him. "He's trapped in a mirror dimension."

"Then let's finish him off!" Helen proclaimed.

"Pay attention, you might learn something." Washu zoomed the camera in and there was orange lines where the crystalline armor met and a telltale heat ripple radiated from him. "As he grows more aggressive his temperature rises; at this point he'll generate more heat than the Sun. As invincible as you claim to be, your flesh will simply melt in his presence."

Helen could only growl at her own weakness. "So we're to sit here until help comes?"

"Not really. You still have one chance to do this yourselves." The screen flickered to show Omega in the corner, looking up into the screen."

"You know what's happening?"

"Yeah," He crossed his arms. "Gamma's finally cut loose. And with such strength too; didn't think he had it in him."

"Can you beat him?"

Omega's head perked up. "Not quite sure. Fighting him before this was troublesome, now, well if I go all out…"

"We need him alive, if you would." Upsilon noted.

"Sure." A portal showed up and he walked into it, leading him in front of Gamma. As the met, the Hex-Array shimmered and Gamma's body glowed orange, like cooling iron. Omega mind burned as he felt Gamma's fury, and his hands drifted to his saber.

Gamma clenched his jaws."Son of Chaos." Gamma pointed at Omega, his voice having a low rumble to it. "I'll scour your blood from all of existence."

Omega was surprised at his statement. "You would, wouldn't you? You _aren't_ Gamma anymore are you?"

"I guess not. I have become as different from myself as you are from yourself. You can call me…Typhon."

"Typhon, huh?" Omega laughed. "I did hear all of that talk about monsters."

"I learned it from you."

"You don't have to do that." Omega charged his body with electricity. "I'm already a monster, just leave that stuff to me, it's a better fit."

"And yet it's my fault that you are in such a state." The Amplifiers inside each sword flashed green. "I could have used this to save you, but I was too afraid. I put all of you in harm's way." Typhon's energy swelled. "I'll fix my mistakes, I must!"

The air around him became hot, and caught fire, catching Omega in the blast. But when the flames subsided, he still stood, singed but unhurt. Gamma sent out all of his swords to engage him, and Omega was able to dodge and deflect all of them repeatedly.

* * *

"How was he able to endure the heat?" Rho said.

"Omega's body can withstand cosmic radiation," Nero replied. "A little fire won't faze him anymore."

"Then he could win?" Epsilon asked.

Helen pointed at the screen. "Not easily. Athanor has his hands full with the swords alone, but Gamma himself is still capable of independent movement."

"It is amazing that he can maneuver this device." Upsilon said as he watched Gamma move around to find a opening while Omega was distracted. "He must have been training in secret."

The Washu doll bobbed its head. "Full of surprises, I can at least predict that Isolating them has at least narrowed the possibilities of further damage."

"Can we talk to him?"

"Too much interference for this kind of communication, but I'll come up with something."

Rho glanced at the screen as Typhon pounced on Omega, swiping him with his claws. They cut clear through the mesh around his waist, drawing a fairly large amount of blood. Stung by the hit, and the rest of the blades closing in on him, he passed through the ground, leaving Typhon by himself. he slammed both of his fists on the ground, and obsidian spikes erupted from the cracks. His body began to burn, the sweat running down black glass and evaporating with a hiss.

The rage he felt was absolute. "Where are you!" He roared, watching the ground erupt in flames.

"Right here." Omega walked out from behind one of the spikes, a big smile on his face. He twirled his sabers once and touched one to his waist, which was no longer wounded. "Turns out it didn't hurt at all."

"I'll make sure it sticks this time." Typhon said, the swords around him snapping to attention and catching fire as he held the two greatswords, cracking noises coming from them as they were encrusted with crystal. They clashed, attacking and counterattacking in turn.

 _"Strange…"_ Psyche said absentmindedly.

"In what way?" Nero focused on the screen.

 _"Omega's brain waves are different. Like, real different, enough for it to be another person."_

Epsilon looked at the screen, and caught a glimpse of another Omega in a skintight bodysuit, stained red at the stomach, circling around to the back of Typhon. He glanced from one Omega to the other and his eyes lit up. "No way…it's Mark!"

"What? How?" Rho said, flabbergasted.

Nero rubbed his head. "Ryoko has the ability to copy her body. Perhaps Athanor managed to place what's left of Mark's personality into his second body. Is that accurate Washu?"

"Close enough."

"Is it enough, however?" Upsilon asked as the tide turned into Typhon's favor. There was no target for Mark-Omega to exploit as Typhon swung all of his blades in flowing circles around himself, creating ribbons of flame. Two of the smaller swords got under his guard and a third hit him in the neck. Clutching at the gash Mark sank to his knees, eyes shut tight. Typhon reset the Hex-Array back into its standard positions and they hummed even more fiercely and a heavy blast of hot wind knocked him away. He tumbled end over end and stopped over a hundred yards away. Typhon walked over to him, slowly but surely, his face still having a scornful look on it.

Standing over Mark-Omega Typhon's mind went back to the fights they had before now; when the whole world hinged on his victory against him. He wasn't strong enough than him then, but now it felt like he could do anything! He lifted Mark-Omega up, watching him gasp for breath and blood running from his mouth and nose as well. "I guess this is the end of your tale, isn't it Athanor?"

Mark-Omega opened his mouth, blood running down his bottom lip. "It's a pity you don't recognize me. I know my hair and eyes are different, and I'm a little taller, but I was sure you'd know who I am."

"What?" Typhon was confused, but then it dawned on him. He released him and backed off, trembling in fear. "No…It can't be."

Athanor-Omega came out of the ground between Typhon and his duplicate, holding a large orange ball in his hand. "It is."

The next moves were lighting quick: Athanor-Omega firing, Typhon erecting a barrier and being enveloped by the plasma. Even with Athanor's newfound power Typhon was able to resist, pushing back.

Athanor looked back at Mark. "Any help here? This guy's pretty tough!"

"Find a way!" Mark demanded over the noise, too hurt to stand. "There's got to be something more to that gem in your wrist! It's not just us on the line here; it's the rest of them, and big sister too! You just gonna leave them to Typhon! Aren't you unmatched anywhere in the universe!"

Athanor grunted as he shoved back, his wound reopening. "I am! But even still…" Tears stung his eyes as his hope faded. And then suddenly a pressure invaded his head.

"Come on; no person calling themselves my brother would lose!"

"Ryoko!" Athanor felt her in his head and it lifted his spirits. He did find it strange however, that he found such kin in a far off place as this.

"Focus on what you want," She advised. "And push through with everything you've got! Don't worry about anyone else, just break through!"

Athanor's body tightened as he focused on her words. "Thanks!" His veins raised, the air around him crackled and then his entire suit turned white. His power increased to a massive degree and it became too much for Typhon to handle. He was swept up and slammed into a outcropping of obsidian, the glass showering him as he fell asleep and the Hex-Array swords fell one by one.

Athanor marveled at his new state and then he helped Mark up. Mark patting him on the shoulder. "Took long enough." Mark said.

"Ahhh shut up." Athanor shot back. "You didn't die again, so it's good."

"And Typhon?" Mark's head turned to where Typhon landed, Athanor watching as well.

* * *

As Gamma woke up, he was enclosed in a black void. "A dream." He stood up and stumbled across the expanse aimlessly, full of sorrow.

"Mark shows up, I get a second chance to make it up to you, and I nearly kill you again. What good am I? How am I going to pull this off?"

His thoughts were broken by the ringing of a phone, each time it rung sending a chill down his spine. It was small, opulent rotary phone when he got to it. He picked up the receiver anyway.

"Hello?"

"After all I've put you through a 'hello' is all I get?"

Gamma's eyes widened as he heard Hild's voice on the other end. "You've done your best I'll admit, but we're putting an end to your game. We'll beat you and your team!"

"Are you so certain?" She said. "The other you thought that as well. The results of his endeavor, just look around and see.

He lowered the receiver down and looked around and saw his friends on the ground. Rho's armor and shield was broken, and his skin was bruised. Upsilon's was impaled on his own sword, his face moist as he was hunched over Helen's bloody body, her white gown nearly red. Epsilon had been gashed along his breastplate and along his face, his eyes vacant. Omega was bleeding nonstop and Nero was hard to find laying down in his shadow, Omega's blood the only thing making him stand out. He dropped the receiver in shock at the image he saw, only hearing a small whisper from the phone caused him to pick it up again.

"Good to see you're still there."

Gamma grabbed the phone with both hands. "W-what is this…"

"The price of fighting me. Others get off with lumps and a warning, but I can't have people like you around, valuable or not. I'll make sure you can't continue, just as I had the last time you tried. You will lead them to their deaths yet again."

"Not yet." His voice was soft.

"Huh?"

"You've done enough damage; not just to me but to everyone you come in contact with." Gamma caught fire. "No more! I'LL END YOU! YOU HEAR ME, _I'LL KILL YOU!_ " With a yell he brought his fist down on the phone's base, destroying it.

* * *

An inferno raged where Typhon was as he got up, leaving his swords behind. The fragments of obsidian clung to his skin, covering him entirely. He growled, the sound low and heavy and his face formed black fangs and the inside of his mouth belched smoke and embers. His claws snapped, sparks flying off of them.

"That's bad." Washu said.

"Psyche, analysis!" Upsilon ordered.

 _"I can't process Victor's current form! But the patterns feel similar to the Alphae!"_

"How? Is he truly a monster now?

"We can't believe that!" Epsilon said. more for himself than anyone. "There's got to be a way to save him!"

Athanor and Mark were equally concerned at this new occurrence. "I need my armor back."

"Yeah, I'll do that." Mark disappeared and the armor moved to Athanor again. With the two of them together Typhon wasted no time and broke out in a sprint, screaming all the way. Omega took his sabers and focused his new power into them, fusing them into a two-pronged sword, the edge red and the rest black.

"Alright Typhon, let's go!"

"KILL! I'LL KILL ALL OF YOU!" Typhon took his claws and broke off small portions of his armor and send them flying at Omega. He didn't block them, and the ones that didn't hit the armor went right through his flesh. He dashed as well, and slashed Typhon, causing a long cut across along his chest. Omega saw it and knew what he had to do and continued to cut more and more of the armor. Soon enough there was a orange cross section on Typhon. Reckless, Typhon lunged and Omega grabbed him and forced him down.

"Any more tricks?"

Typhon opened his smoking mouth and breathed fire, but couldn't get Omega off. In response, Omega punched him at the first cut, causing the entire obsidian armor to shatter, and knocking Typhon out for good. Omega cradled him as he stood up, labored breathing the only sound left.

"Washu! It's over; you can take him now!"

Washu, the real one popped up in front of him and took Gamma. "Not bad at all, for you."

"I told you, there's no greater monster than me." Omega weakly approached her. "When he wakes up, tell me. He'll want to talk to me. Right now, let me rest…" He collapsed as well.

Washu shook her head in amusement. "Never a dull moment on Earth, it seems."


	4. Galvanized

Omega's eyes fluttered open, coming to on a examination table with Washu and Nero looking over him. He tried to stand and a sharp pain made him hesitate, prompting Washu to hold up a clear capsule filled with black flakes.

"This junk was riddling your entire body, I couldn't heal you before taking this out." She shook the capsule.

Omega looked over himself. "Was it really that bad?"

Annoyed, Washu tossed the bottle at his head and walked away. Nero brought up a diagram of Omega. "Your skin, muscles, and bone are dense enough to resist quite a bit of punishment," He showed a cross section. "But your organs can't be made of the same materials. If enough internal damage is done to you, you'll bleed out; it's the surefire way to kill you. Typhon, er, Victor knew that, which is why he threw those shards."

"Why is Washu mad at me then?" Omega said rubbing his head.

"She takes pride in all of her creations, that apparently means you as well." Nero's face lightened up. "I think Washu knows what's in your head now, considering what you are now."

"Really?" Omega was slowly becoming embarrassed. "Oh man…I might have said some thing I wouldn't want getting out."

"I don't think you could make her that upset. Unless she wanted to laugh at your expense for the hell of it." Nero had a soft smile thinking about Omega's future heckling. "Until then you'll need this." He reached over to a nearby desk and gave a small case to Omega who sat up to receive it. He opened the case and inside it was a pair of bracelets made to fit over his gauntlets and with it there was a red gem like the one in his wrist. Inspecting the bracelets he found that they both had heat sinks in them.

Nero noticed his curiosity. "I modified some thermal clips for you to use when things get hairy, otherwise you'll burn up too. Also, you can use that second gem now." Omega immediately absorbed the gem into his wrist and shuddered as he felt a rush of energy.

"How many of these can I hold?"

"Two seems to be your limit, but even that will make what you did against Victor look like child's play."

Omega's glee was replaced with concern. "Is he awake?"

"I was going to check myself. You can come along if you're up for it."

Omega stiffly got off of the table and walked with Nero out of Washu's lab. It had been some time since he had got out, and despite the expansive simulated environments he found it couldn't beat actual wind and sunlight. In the living room the rest of his teammates sans Gamma turned their heads to face him. It was only when he noticed that Epsilon was missing as well that he was punched in the side of the face. He staggered away and found Epsilon on the other side of the fist. Epsilon was furious and he lifted Omega up with both hands.

"How long was he there?" He yelled, shaking Omega as he did. "How long?"

Omega scowled. "What answer could I possibly give that you would want to hear?"

"I don't care! Just tell me!"

"Mark Lore has been in my since before we came here, and I don't know how long we've been here." Omega said, letting his limbs hang in the air. "He's been around since you woke me back up."

Something inside Epsilon snapped at that moment and he shoved Omega into a nearby wall, only for Omega to sink them both into the wall. The came up through the floor as if they pivoted on a single point. Omega freed himself from Epsilon's grasp by passing through his arms. Epsilon didn't try to grab him again, he was conflicted by his anger at Omega. Omega was equally angry, and dropped most of his disguise: his skin drained of color, eyes narrowed into slits and his hair stood up on end.

"Why?" Epsilon said, every muscle tensed up. "Why doesn't he want to talk to me?"

"You're not special." Omega scoffed. "He didn't want to talk to any of you. Mark's dead, _deal with it_! Me and him are okay with that, but to you I'm still Athanor!" He walked away and up the stairs where Nero was waiting for him. "I don't care what you think I am, but even still, I don't want anyone to make any assumptions about who I am."

Epsilon looked up the stairs, then back to his friends. Beside them was Ayeka who came to him.

"You know," She said. "There was a dead man in Omega before too."

"Who was he?"

"You."

Epsilon was shocked at her revelation. "Did I hate him as much then?"

"Absolutely."

Rho's mind caught up with his ears and he shot up to his feet. "Wait a moment, what do you mean Epsilon was dead?"

Ayeka caught her breath as she noticed her slipup and backed up against the door to the back porch, Helen laughing at how silly this whole event was. _"Now we get to the fun part."_ she thought.

* * *

 _Some time before…_

Gamma had been locked upstairs in Ayeka's room, a strong barrier keeping him inside. He was morose, caring about nothing else but his obsidian claw. His eyes never left the glassy exterior and as it flexed the cracks flared orange. The glow played on the rainbow-patterned surface and that's how he knew three people were at the doorframe.

"The Choushin of Chaos," He said to the first silhouette with its hair splayed out like the claws of a crab. "The Choushin of Order," The second, tallest, silhouette he saw was a illusion; the real person was half her size, but the long twintails left no doubt to him who it was. "And their ace in the hole." The third one wavered, but didn't leave, even as he extended his hand and flames leapt off it. "Just the people I thought would show up. You don't trust me; I understand that feeling. Sometimes," He pointed to where he saw the second image. "I wonder if you're a walking corpse."

"I've still got my memories and my body." A high piched voice said. "Even if I'm not Sasami, I'm the part that counts."

"What about you Typhon?" Washu asked.

His head jerked up for a moment and then lowered again. "Call me Gamma. I was always Gamma, I just didn't want to believe it. Can I ask a question?"

"Ask away."

"You had no reason to entrust Omega with beating me. Even if you or Sasami didn't want to do it yourselves, you could have sent this guy in to crush me." He stared directly at Tenchi who was in a school uniform. "It's not like you to leave things to chance, and it's not like him to let me have a chance to harm anyone. Tenchi, you've killed without mercy before, what makes me different?"

Tenchi rummaged through his uniform's pockets and pulled out a wooden ring. Between his forefinger and thumb the ring looked small, but with it came a great power. "I threw this away when I first got it; power is not something I actively seek. Washu trusted you to work it out between yourselves and told us to stay out of it."

Gamma was intrigued by the statement, but didn't show it. "And your point is?"

"The other version of you guys were also travelers from another place, too. When they came here near the end of their journey, that Gamma said that the armor you all wore was cursed. It caused pain to you no matter where you went or who you met."

"Ah, I see." Gamma stood up and bowed to him. "You sound like your grandfather."

Tenchi and Sasami chuckled at the remark until Tenchi gasped. "Grandpa! Sorry guys, I gotta go, I'm late enough as it is." He ran off, down the stairs and was away before anyone else could tell what was going on. Gamma sat back down, not knowing what else to do. Washu stuck a hand through the barrier, inside it was Gamma's communicator.

"Your better half wants to talk to you." She said as he took the device. "We can leave him here Sasami, let's go." The younger girl was a little concerned, but a nod from Gamma got her on her way. Once he was alone he put the disk over his ear, but as he went to speak he couldn't find the words and collapsed to the floor on his side.

 _"Now_ I _have to start the conversation?"_ Psyche's sass hadn't changed a bit. _"Do I have to do everything?"_

"You just might; I can barely trust myself." Gamma's eyes drifted. "You were right back then, on that beach, and I kept shoving. Now look at me."

 _"I was wrong then too. We wouldn't have found Travis if you weren't so determined."_

"What is the status on the Hex-Array?"

 _"A-Are you sure?"_

"Humor me for once."

 _"Omega destroyed the control unit with the Light Hawk Wings. It cannot be repaired."_

"Even if it could, I don't want it fixed."

 _"Very well. Also I have something to tell you."_

"Go ahead."

 _"I'm not going anywhere. Even if you do something that stupid again, I'll be here to keep you from falling off the edge, even if it kills me."_

"I'd expect nothing less." Gamma stretched out onto his back. "I'll be stuck with you forever, won't I?"

A static hiss came through on Psyche's end. For a brief second Gamma thought it was sniffling. _"Of course you will Victor, of course you will."_

* * *

Omega and Nero saw Gamma in that makeshift prison, the man within had a delirious look on his face. His glazed over eyes floated to them.

"Victor, are you okay?" Said a concerned Nero.

"Yeah, bring the rest of the guys." Gamma's hand made a beckoning motion. "They need to hear this."

All of the team got into the hallway and found a way to see him. Once they were all settled Gamma took off all of his armor, leaving him bare but for the bodysuit needed to interface with the armor.

"There are many different form of evil in the world," Gamma paced as he tried to turn these old memories into words. "And it showed through all of the stories I read. Of all of these, I was most afraid of the kind of evil that can turn a person's desires against themselves. I guess it makes sense that I would find demons especially worthy of fear, and eventually, resentment. That lead me to Hild, and I didn't know a more dangerous foe: physically powerful as well as cunning. Luckily she wasn't real, but there were those that could use such tactics."

Rho understood, even if no one else shared his faith. "To use the desires of the flesh against itself."

Gamma faced Rho with a smile. "You've caught on." The breastplate rocked, lifted up, and floated into Gamma's hands. "Flesh alone cannot triumph, so I decided to create something that would fuse weak flesh with the resilience of metal." He presented the breastplate to them. "A suit of armor to make mankind as strong as its will."

His heartfelt explanation moved Nero. "Your friend, Travis, told me that our unchecked ambition would lead to our destruction." Epsilon twitched as he remembered saying that. "We've have both made mistakes, mine being somewhat greater."

"Yeah. This however is a rage filled vendetta that spiraled out of control." Gamma expanded the armor and fit it over his head, constricting with a whine. "I make a poor leader. You don't have to go for my sake."

"Gamma, you've been my friend since college, and you haven't guided me wrong once." Rho said. "And besides, I was born to fight such an enemy, you'll _need_ me."

"You already have my loyalty." Upsilon added. "I see no reason for that to change now."

Helen nudged him with her elbow. "Come on now, Hild wants to control us! I won't let that happen, not as long as I-" She wrapped her arm around Upsilon. " _We_ live."

"I wasn't there when you needed me the most." Epslion teeth clenched in frustration. "I'm going to be here, right now, at the front of a new battle."

"To be completely honest," Omega said. "I totally went with the 'attack Hild' plan first. Might as well go all in on this one."

"You're not getting rid of us." Nero bragged, gesturing to the rest of them. "So if we're going to finish this we'll do it together."

"I knew it." And Washu walked out behind all of them, they didn't even hear her. "Everything went exactly as I expected it to, and why wouldn't it, it was my plan!" She laughed loudly, rubbing their faces in their own ignorance. She moved through the room, not caring that Gamma followed her out. "Now that you've levelled out, you can make yourselves at home."

* * *

So they had, in a sense. Helen and Upsilon were out making the circle needed to run the teleportation program. Rho helped Tenchi tend to the carrot field, and chase off a ravenous Ryo-Oki every now and then. Epsilon was sharing cooking recipes with Sasami. Omega was enraptured with a handheld video game Ryoko gave him while she and Gamma played a racing game against Ayeka and Nero, and it was getting heated.

"Good work on cutting Victor off!" Nero praised Ayeka. "You make a good teammate; perfect for a relationship."

Ayeka beamed. "Of course it is, something _others_ don't."

"Teamwork is good, but a real partner should be a just as much a rival; pushing each other." Ryoko shot back, slamming into Ayeka's character. "You're going to have to be more than a housewife if you want Tenchi!" Her attack allowed Gamma to move around them and into the lead, Nero right on his tail. The constant clashes caused all four of them to crash long before the finish line.

A slight twinge from his scar made Omega look down from his game, as he was up on the rafters. It was going poorly anyway; the boss he was on kept healing itself and wouldn't stand still so he could beat it. "Do I need to come down there?"

"NO!" They all shouted. Omega shrugged and went back to his game. Then Upsilon came in, mildly curious.

"The circle is finished, it can be used at soon as Epsilon is ready."

"Oh?" Epsilon peeked around the corner. "I guess we could start now."

"I will not rush you."

"No, we should get moving." He picked up his notes. "It doesn't get easier if we stay."

"I guess this is goodbye, then."

"In that case," Ryoko vanished to somewhere unknown and popped in front of Omega with a red mask, monstrous in shape. "Take this with you."

He stared at it. "Thanks. By the way, why did you punch me?"

"The last time you left, you didn't say anything, and you didn't come back." She tapped the mask, her face serious. "I expect this back."

"Don't worry, I'll be back." He matched her expression. "And I'll have this with me."

He glided to the ground and after calling Rho over they all gathered inside the circle. Tenchi and his guests were there to see them off.

"Goodbye! Come back soon!" Sasami said, Ryo-Oki purring on her shoulder.

"We will!" Gamma proclaimed.

"Epsilon, we will need your necklace to complete the program." Upsilon explained. Epsilon understood and took off necklace Lind gave him. It, along with the circle, glowed and then they were off. Tenchi was unsettled once they had left and Sasami noticed.

"What's the matter?"

"I…I can't help but feel like we should have done something to stop them."

"Could we have done anything to convince them?" Washu tried to tell him. "Their minds were set, we couldn't have stopped them."

Tenchi was startled with her uncaring tone. "And if they die like the last time?"

"They won't." She said.

* * *

 _If I believed in destiny I would say they were heading towards it at a breakneck pace. Instead let's just say that all the pain they went through wasn't for nothing._


End file.
